Piano string-plate.



J. ANDERSEN.

PIANO STRING PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1912.

1,072,294. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

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E N ya B JV 3 F EZ' A 4 WITNESSES I A G ZNVENTOR firgerzAnderaerz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JORGEN AINDERSEN, OF PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY.

PIANO STRING-PLATE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J ORGEN ANDERSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Perth Amboy, in the county of lWIiddlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano String-Plates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in piano plates and the object in View is to produce a simple and eflicient device of this nature so arranged that, when the wires are mounted thereon, the tone of the piano may be amplified, particularly in the upper or treble register.

In ordinary pianos there is very little or no resonance in the upper register and it is the object of the present invention to improve upon this part of the piano by making each string of unison exactly the same length between the bridge and the plate and also to cause the strings to come into strict metallic contact with projections upon the plate dispensing with the felt which is commonly employed and against which the wires usually have bearings upon piano plates.

In a majority of American made pianos, the bearing for the strings, which comprises the bridge, ordinarily projects precisely half of an inch beyond the bearings upon the ribs of the plate near the ends of the wires. Such a bearing with the usual form of tuning pin in the plate will allow good re sults, especially when the instrument is new and when the sounding board is in its best physical condition and has a slightly crowned surface, but under great tension of strains upon the piano plate, there is a tendency to wear away the bearing and con sequentlychange the tone of the instrument.

In the present invention, I am able to reduce the height of the bearing to a minimum by using a lighter sounding board which will vibrate to a greater degree than would be the case had the sounding board been built heavy enough to carry a greater bearing.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 29, 1912.

Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

Serial No. 712,134.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a piano plate made in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken-on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the manner in which the strings engage the metallic rib upon the plate.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a piano string plate of the general shape commonly employed and B is a bridge, which is fastened to the sounding board A in the usual way and which is positioned parallel to the rib E. Pins F are fastened to the bridge in pairs and the opposite edges of the bridge are notched as at G and said rib E has series of double inclined portions E and E which terminate in a series of ridges E arranged in stepped relation to one another. It will be noted upon reference to the drawings that the rib E is spaced apart a slight distance from the bridge, and pins K are fastened to the plate at the lower ends of the inclined surface E and at substantially right angles thereto, thereby causing the wire to have a contact bearing surface with said incline-d surface E substantially its entire length. Tuning pins N are fastened to the upper portion of the plate as shown and are adapted to securely hold the strings over the rib D.

It will be noted upon reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings that, when the wires are adjusted in place in accordance with my invention, the portions of the strings intermediate the bridge and the ribs E, are of equal length and that the portions of the strings adjacent to the ribs E bear against the inclined surface E and are attached to the pins projecting from the plate at right angles to said inclined surfaces, thus affording a substantial bearing for the wires. The intimate metallic contact between the string and the plate from the hitch pin to the apex of the inclined rib is superior to the usual method where felt is used as a muffle. The strings lying in intimate con tact with the plate in the manner shown and owing to the great pressure between the string and the plate will cause the strings to vibrate to a greater degree from the same force of the blow of the hammer than would be possible from the usual construction and Would thereby give a louder and more musical tone than by. other constructions in which the felts or other fabrics are used as the sound deadening material.

What I claim is 1- J A piano string plate having a raised rib portion made up of a series of double inclined surfaces terminating in ridges Which latter are arranged in stepped relation to one another, a bridge positioned adjacent to and spaced apart from saidrib portion and having notches upon its opposite edges, pins projecting from said bridge adjacent to the marginal edges of the notches therein, hitch pins projecting from the plate at the lower marginaledges of the inclined surfaces upon said rib and at right angles thereto, tuning pins projecting from the plate, ribs projecting from the plate adjacent to said tuning pins, strings fastened to said hitch pins'and held thereby against the inclined surfaces of the ribs and bearing against the said ridges, the strings, engaging the pins upon said bridge and bearing on the ribs adjacent to the tuning pins and fastened to the latter, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of'tWo Witnesses.

' JORGEN ANDERSEN. W'itnesses e HENRY W. KEHoE, EMIL STREMLAU.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, I). 0.? 

